Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)

June 2, 2020

Recently, the CFTC issued a customer advisory (Advisory) in response to increased investor interest in exchange-traded products (ETPs) and funds that invest in futures or other types of commodity interests (collectively, Pools). The Advisory highlights the distinctions between ETPs and funds that invest in securities and Pools, which include the…

May 22, 2020

On May 15, 2020, FINRA issued Regulatory Notice 20-14 (Notice) in response to recent “extraordinary conditions” that have caused significant volatility in complex oil-linked exchange-traded products (ETPs). The Notice reminds broker-dealers that are members of FINRA (firms) of their sales practice obligations in connection with these ETPs and, similar to…

May 15, 2020

On May 13, 2020, a group of six ETF sponsors submitted letters to Cboe Global Markets, Inc., NASDAQ, and Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (the parent of NYSE Arca) urging that each exchange adopt exchange listing rules or other means to categorize exchange-traded products (ETPs) differently (ETP Letter). The ETP Letter proposes…

May 4, 2020

Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (Cboe), The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (NASDAQ) and NYSE Arca, Inc. (NYSE) received approval from the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets (Division) to adopt rules that establish generic listing standards to permit the listing and trading of ETFs that can rely on Rule 6c-11 under…

March 12, 2020

The SEC recently fined two dual registrant broker-dealers $35 million for violations involving inadequate compliance policies and procedures, unsuitable recommendations and failure to supervise arising out of recommendations to certain retail investors that invested in single-inverse ETFs. Single-inverse ETFs are ETFs that seek returns that are the opposite of the…

February 24, 2020

Earlier this month, certain non-transparent ETFs (NT ETFs) received approval to be able to list on an exchange. On February 12 and 20, 2020, the SEC approved Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.’s (Cboe) proposals to list and trade shares of American Century Focused Dynamic Growth ETF, American Century Focused Large Cap…

January 16, 2020

NYSE Arca, Inc., the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (NASDAQ), and Cboe BZX Exchange have filed proposed rule changes with the SEC to establish generic listing standards for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are permitted to operate in reliance on Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act. The proposed changes would largely simplify…

October 24, 2019

On October 24, 2019, the SEC’s adopting release (Release) for Rule 6c-11 (Rule) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (1940 Act), to modernize the regulatory framework for most exchange-traded funds (ETFs) was published in the Federal Register, which means that the various compliance and effective dates for…